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Comparative Study
. 2019 Feb 14;34(1):e20190010000009.
doi: 10.1590/s0102-865020190010000009.

Ursodeoxycholic acid in the prevention of gallstones in patients subjected to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass1

Francisco Heine Ferreira Machado  1 , Heladio Feitosa de Castro Filho  2 , Rodrigo Feitosa de Albuquerque Lima Babadopulos  3 , Hermano Alexandre Lima Rocha  4 , José Lima de Carvalho Rocha  5 , Manoel Odorico de Moraes Filho  6
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Ursodeoxycholic acid in the prevention of gallstones in patients subjected to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass1

Francisco Heine Ferreira Machado et al. Acta Cir Bras. .

Erratum in

  • Erratum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Acta Cir Bras. 2019 May 6;34(4):e2019004ERRATA. doi: 10.1590/s0102-865020190010000009erratum. Acta Cir Bras. 2019. PMID: 31066789 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the contribution of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the first 12 months after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in the prevention of gallstone formation.

Methods: A community-based clinical trial was conducted. A total of 137 patients were included in the study; 69 were treated with UDCA, starting 30 days after the surgery, at a dose of 150 mg twice daily (300 mg/day) over a period of 5 consecutive months (GROUP A), and 68 were control patients (GROUP B). The patients were followed-up, and ultrasonography was performed to determine the presence of gallstones at various times during follow-up. Demographic, anthropometric and comorbid indicators were obtained. The data were subjected to normality tests and evaluated using appropriate tests.

Results: Patients did not differ in their baseline characteristics. Of the 69 patients who used UDCA, only one patient developed cholelithiasis (1%), whereas 18 controls (26%) formed gallstones (OR = 24.4, p <0.001). Also, other factors were found not to influence the formation of calculi, such as pre-operative or postoperative hepatic steatosis or diabetes (p = 0.759, 0.468, 0.956).

Conclusion: The results demonstrated that patients who did not use UDCA showed a 24.4-fold greater probability of developing cholelithiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Capella Operation - Gastric Bypass (without ring) - Surgical Times: Gastric Bag: 30-40cm³, Food Strap: 120-140cm (140cm: in the super-obese), Biliary Handle: 80-100cm (100cm: diabetic patients).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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